Crest vs. Shelby -- it's still biggest rivalry around here

Thursday

Nov 7, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 7, 2013 at 5:06 PM

Alan Ford

Whether unbeaten or winless, Crest and Shelby would still be THE game in high school football in the area.

Friday night’s 46th renewal of the football rivalry between the two nearby powers at Pearley Allen Field has its own history. Depending on your point of view, there have been heroes and villains, oddities and unique circumstances that add personality to the game even if they weren’t playing to settle the South Mountain Athletic Conference regular season crown as they are at present.

The only thing this contest lacks is a name.

It was the ‘Taylor Bowl’ for an eight-year period from 1979-86 when brothers Jim and John, respectively, were head coaches at the rival schools. Maybe it should be called the ‘Battle of First Broad River’ or the ‘Battle of Ingles stoplight.”

But even if had a label worthy of the matchup, it would be hard to deny this is one of the marquee encounters in western N.C. year-after-year. Something is riding on the contest every year, even beyond bragging rights.

Consider that since Crest first broke through with a win in 1980, that in the 34 years since that time, one or the other has been in the post-season every year but two.

This showdown has been a roller-coaster ride for players, coaches and fans since its inception. Though the group grows smaller every year, there’s still a good number of folks who can lay claim to have seen every game in the series.

It’s created shared memories, depending on the outcome in a given year. Former Shelby coach Chris Norman says: “If something crazy’s going to happen, this is the game." Certain plays stand out to the dyed-in-the-wool fans who’ve lived through those ups and downs:

Mention ‘the pitch’ and Shelby fans will smile about Robert Williams’ intercepting a pitchout to dash to the end zone for the winning score in 1993.

Say ‘the stop’ and some Crest loyalists will recall the Chargers making a defensive stand way back in 1973 in the old-style overtime setup for the advantage – which allowed Crest to get the former Southwestern Conference’s No. 2 playoff berth that year.

How about the ‘kick that didn’t happen?’ That was 1985 when Shelby, with an assist from the head official, slipped up with its time management near the end and the Crest kicking team came on to attempt a winning field goal. Yet the clock expired as the Chargers went through their off-set kicking formation routine.

Mention ‘the fumble’ in 2004 and you can get the Golden Lion coaches of the time in a bad mood very quickly. A play where they thought the Shelby runner was down late in the half was ruled a fumble and Crest punched in a score on its way to victory after a 21-3 deficit.

There’s plenty more. There always are in a true rivalry that raises emotions the way this one does.

A lot of it has to do with basic proximity. There are cousins, girl friends, fellow church members – even married couples – who find themselves on opposite sides for this one.

It adds up to one intense ballgame. And you can bet there will be least one play, flag, decision, etc., that will be fodder for discussion the rest of the year.